Loss of a Great Competitor RON HOEHN

To ron

the youngest said:
dad was definitely a great competitor. So much so that he hung on to every single competitive cell in his body when my sister terri and i were conceived -- we're as un-competitive as it gets! :)

my family appreciates the outpouring of support shown by all those in the benchrest community, and the patience of hoehn sales' customers, as we get past these first couple weeks. Please know that we have some of the best help in the business working with us to wrap things up for my dad as he would have wanted done.

Speaking solely for myself and no one else, i'm not sure he's made it to heaven yet. I think he's still trying to bargain the best deal between the two as he's deserving to take his place in either spot! Love you dad!!!
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a great man great freind good to his family bill brawand.
 
The Youngest said:
Dad was definitely a great competitor. So much so that he hung on to every single competitive cell in his body when my sister Terri and I were conceived -- we're as un-competitive as it gets! :)

My family appreciates the outpouring of support shown by all those in the benchrest community, and the patience of Hoehn Sales' customers, as we get past these first couple weeks. Please know that we have some of the best help in the business working with us to wrap things up for my dad as he would have wanted done.

Speaking solely for myself and no one else, I'm not sure he's made it to Heaven yet. I think he's still trying to bargain the best deal between the two as he's deserving to take his place in either spot! Love you dad!!!
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Your Dad was a respected competitor, an honest businessman and a good friend to many people.

The World is a better place for Ron having been here. -Al
 
Definitely agree with the world being a better place for him having been part of it. As the youngest of 5 I know he and mom did a heck of a job raising us when times weren't always easy, and we didn't always make it easy on them. :)

My hope is that his legacy in shooting will continue, that the passion for precision he had will continue in young shooters around the globe. As I mentioned before, I haven't a lick of his competitive nature so afraid it won't be me.

It's been good for me, recognizing names here on the forum of guys he talked about fondly. Can't thank you all enough again for the support. It means so much to my mom as well as my siblings and myself.
 
Mentor & Friend

The Youngest said:
Dad was definitely a great competitor. So much so that he hung on to every single competitive cell in his body when my sister Terri and I were conceived -- we're as un-competitive as it gets! :)

My family appreciates the outpouring of support shown by all those in the benchrest community, and the patience of Hoehn Sales' customers, as we get past these first couple weeks. Please know that we have some of the best help in the business working with us to wrap things up for my dad as he would have wanted done.

Speaking solely for myself and no one else, I'm not sure he's made it to Heaven yet. I think he's still trying to bargain the best deal between the two as he's deserving to take his place in either spot! Love you dad!!!
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Your Dad was my mentor and friend. I served with him on the BOD at BenchRest. I will miss him greatly, he was always there to help me and lend guidance or just to say a kind word. The world was a better place with him and will be less so without him.
I am so sorry for your loss, all my best to all of you and Joann.
 
One thing I noticed about Ron was when you left after a conversation with him is the feeling that you were the more important person in the conversation. It was never about him. He is a mentor to more than you can imagine.
 
Ron was the first person I called when I thought about trying Benchrest. I'm guessing very few have started this sport with less knowledge than me. I wanted to build a gun on a Savage action to save money. He proceeded to tell me that was fine, but to be remotely competitive, that wouldn’t work. Of coarse I knew he just wanted to strip me of $3k so I built the Savage.

One year later, and having incurred the additional cost of a custom rifle, I showed up for my first registered match at St. Louis. Knowing I had no clue what I was doing I was still coerced into betting this HOF shooter into a dollar a match. I lost all 20. I knew he would give me a break because he really just wanted to make a new shooter feel welcome. Nope. He wanted all $20, but the first had to be a $1 bill so I could sign it and he could hang it on his wall with all the others he had taken money from! Welcome to Benchrest.

A few years later, I wanted to sale Ron a scope. He made the obligatory insulting offer. I turned down the low ball offer. After a half hour of banter, he walked away with my scope and I left with $100 BELOW his original offer,,,,,, and I felt good about it! Welcome to Ron!

One more story. On my way through St. Louis, I needed to pick up a case of 133 that Ron was holding for me. My wife was with me. Not good! Lot of pressure since rifles in this sport only cost a few hundred dollars and barrels are around $50 each.......... I had told Ron if she went in the shop with me, this could go poorly. Well we get there, and the wife wants to accompany me during the transaction. Not good. We go in and he hands me the case of powder and tells me I owe him $40. Welcome to Ron.

As everyone that knew Ron knows, we all could write paragraphs of Ron Hoehn stories. One of life’s great characters. A serious, but fun competitor. I am glad I got to know him.

Mark
 
Sad!

I met Ron in 2001 when I started shooting bench rest. My first contact with him was when I ordered several hundred $ of stuff from him. When I ask then he want money before shipping he said no it is a small community etc. I later had the honor to shoot with and against him - placing small bets - while he and Brady Knight ( another jewel that has passed) were placing much larger bets. I will miss Ron and his support of all new and novice shooters as i was and am. RIP RON YOU EARNED IT!!
 
Some Ron Stories

I, as Jim Casey stated above started Benchrest in 2001. My first match was in St Louis. I recall meeting Ron at that first match. After a few years of shooting and travelling around I got to be pretty good friends with Ron, going out to eat, buying stuff from him, and as my skills got better we had a wager going at every match. Probably after all the years we broke even. I remember Ron and Brady always betting a watch at the Supershoot.

That being said, following are a couple of Ron stories from the past I've heard him talk about.

When he worked at the paper company they would go outside for break and I think there were some picnic tables nearby. They would be setting around there, probably smoking back then. There would be a bunch of birds setting on the highline wires above and Ron said they would bet on which end of the string of birds the next one would fly off from.

This second story involves Jo Ann. They had been somewhere and were headed down the road in their pickup or maybe El Camino. I think Ron threw a cigarette out the window and it went into the back of the truck where a bunch of gunpowder was being hauled. It went up like a big torch and they had to bail from the truck while it was still moving along at a rapid pace. They both bailed out at the same time and if i remember correctly one of them broke and arm and they both were road rashed. I don't remember how the vehicle turned out. I do remember Ron saying they didn't have time to stop the truck it was so hot.

If anyone has corrections about the stories, feel free to make them.

Ron always said, it ain't about the money, it's about the money.

RIP Ron and my condolences to the Hoehn family.

Dave
 
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You got it right!

I worked with dad at the plant. Sounds like him to be out back smoking and betting on birds! Perhaps I should have said in my original post that he's still placing bets on where he'll end up rather than bargaining for the best deal (though he did a lot of that too!).

We've had fun going through the dollar bills he's collected over the years. I hope sometime in the near future to read ALL of them.

The story about the truck catching on fire: I remember some of that too. My memory's not the best but mom was driving when it caught on fire. My understanding is that dad hollered at mom to pull over and bail out. He jumped out at that point but when mom pulled over, she was next to a guard rail and had to pull back away. Thus she took the worse of it. I tell you what, they both took it like champs. Mom joked about getting a "free facial peel" that ladies paid high $$ for to look younger. She also joked that she always wanted a new wedding ring. Since they had to cut hers off, she thought she just might get it.

That same grace and humor of hers is helping her through this time now -- along with the support from my siblings and the benchrest community. The tributes to him have been enlightening, uplifting and comforting.

On behalf of my family, thank you again.
 
And another of his quotes....

Dave Coots said:
Ron always said, it ain't about the money, it's about the money.


Dave
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Dave, that reminds me of another saying he had when I was growing up. When I was in high school he always told me to remember the golden rule. The first time he said that to me, I replied back with something like "yeah I know - the whole do on to others as you want done to you ….. whatever." He corrected me with "No, the golden rule is this: The man with the gold makes the rules." Can't tell you how many times in the past 30 years I've passed that one on!

Thank you for sharing the "....it ain't about the money...." I hadn't heard that one before but I can hear him saying it!!
 
I truly enjoyed reading all the stories about Ron. When he was between bouts of sickness, it was always a pleasure to see him at the matches at St. Louis. I have heard many stories of betting watches for groups. Probably some who didn’t wear their good watch to benchrest matches just because of that. Not wanting Ron to wind up wearing their Rolex. I too am another one of those who ordered from Ron before he ever knew me with the same story send me a check when you get it. I can see him doing just what Mark said selling him a case of 133 for $40. He may have said it’s about the money, but somehow to me with Ron, it’s about the friends he made over a lifetime of shooting benchrest. I was truly blessed to consider Ron a friend.
 
That is indeed sad news. I met Ron in 1980 when I visited Kelblys range for the NBRSA Nationals. He was very helpful and sold me a brand new Wichita Mini action which I shot for many years. In later years he supplied me stock tape, which I could not source in Australia.
A really nice fellow and a great loss to shooting.

Brendan Atkinson
 
To rons family

dave coots said:
sad news indeed. I will sure miss the banter and betting with ron i've had over the years. He fought a lot of health issues the last couple of years.

Rip ron

also, sorry for your loss jo ann.

Later
dave
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sorry to hear of rons passing he always help me when i needed money good up there bill b
 
Youngest

Be careful, some of those dollar bills are g rated.

Tell your mom she is being thought of.

Later
Dave
 
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Ron Stories

I have two additions to Ron Stories: The Ron truck fireball episode:
The reason they had to bail out of the truck was that the back window was a slider and open thus admitting flames into the cab. Ron got a nickname after this: Ron Flames.
Some of the Americans went to a bar after practice at the World shoot in Italy. It was just down the street from a brothel. Ron would not drink and was razzed by the other team members. One person asked the female bartender what was the Italian term for a portion of female anatomy associated with being a sissy. We were told it was the same as in English. That became Ron's team nickname ..... Hoehn. He took it all in stride. It was an honor to know .....Flames. Tim
 
Ron Hoehn

I never met Ron Hoehn. Talked to him a lot, on the phone. Ive heard many of the funny stories about Ron. IMO,his name deserves to be included among those in the“Who’s Who” Benchrest annals.

Sorry to hear of his passing. I was one of his regular customers, when I needed to order brass.

I won’t forget, one time, I ordered 200 pieces of brass. Ron's policy was.... He would send you the brass and you would pay for it, when it arrived. I think the same policy applied to all the products listed on his Web page.

I mailed a personal check that covered the cost of my order. After about two weeks, my check had not cleared the bank. I got a little concerned and called Ron to see if he had received the payment. He put me hold and went and checked his "stack of mail", as he described it.

He found my letter and assured me that everything was fine. He stated that he just hadn’t gotten around to going through his mail.

A perfect example of the character of a man who I never met. May he RIP.


Glenn
 
Tim Oltersdorf said:
I have two additions to Ron Stories: The Ron truck fireball episode:
The reason they had to bail out of the truck was that the back window was a slider and open thus admitting flames into the cab. Ron got a nickname after this: Ron Flames.
Some of the Americans went to a bar after practice at the World shoot in Italy. It was just down the street from a brothel. Ron would not drink and was razzed by the other team members. One person asked the female bartender what was the Italian term for a portion of female anatomy associated with being a sissy. We were told it was the same as in English. That became Ron's team nickname ..... Hoehn. He took it all in stride. It was an honor to know .....Flames. Tim
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How funny! I never knew his Flames nickname - thank you for sharing! And I'm sure my husband will get a kick out of his other nickname as dad often gave Ted a hard time about being a "…" underneath his tough exterior.
 
Ron Really Liked This Story.

I was out at the Hog Roast a few years back and Mary was with me. Ron, Larry Scharnhorst, Mary and I went out for a steak. We decided to flip coins to see who would pay for the meal. i said it is only fair that Mary flip also. After 3 or 4 times of odd man out, poor old Shorthorse ended up having to buy. You might say, he came up short. We all felt soooo sorry for him. The poor guy had ordered a second margarita and only could handle a couple of sips out of it so I had to drink that for him.
That was really hard on Larry.....like he was reminded many times.
Another time we were out at the Supershoot and I went out to eat with Ron, Tracy Bartlein, Tracy's dad and a few others. We sure had a lot of laughs that night. Tracy's dad said something about wearing out a barrel shooting deer in Wisconsin and I replied maybe you should get a better bbl and you wouldn't have to fire so many shots................

Two or three years ago I was changing barrels at the E/W Match. Somehow the barrel flew out of my hands......... and went way out over the bank at the east end of the loading barn. Later as the story got around I heard Ron put a $50 bounty on it if someone found it. Later I heard he raised that bounty, but it was never found, must have been a good toss.............He would have had a really good time badgering me if someone would have found that barrel.

Later
Dave
 
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Ron's passing is certainty is a tremendous loss to the benchrest community. He will surely be missed. Such a likeable person and friend.
I always called him un Uncle Ron, and he called me cousin Tommy, Prayers to his family.. Great guy!!!
 
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